clay & campbell to captain GB & NI in sweden

Share this

Bobby Clay (coach: Peter Mullervy, club: Invicta East Kent) and Taylor Campbell (Paul Dickenson/Chris Black, Winslow, Slough, Eton & Hounslow) will take up the joint responsibility of captaining the 55-strong Great Britain & Northern Ireland team at the European Athletics Junior Championships, which takes place in Eskilstuna, Sweden from 16-19 July.

Clay goes into the championships ranked as the European number one over 1500m and admits being asked to lead the team alongside one of her long-time friends is a great honour.

The 18 year old said: “I was a bit shocked, I didn’t expect to be team captain but I’m really pleased. Sharing the responsibility with Taylor, that’s probably the best bit. He’s like a big brother to me.

“I’ve been excited for these championships for a while, so it’s been a long time coming. It’s nice to be here and finally getting down to business.”

GB & NI’s ‘pocket rocket’ tops the European lists by over a second courtesy of a 4:12.20 run in Manchester in May. She will be further buoyed by her emphatic victory in the U20 1500m at the Lausanne Diamond League last week and is well equipped to deal with the pressure that comes with her impressive form in 2015.

“I do like running under pressure as it gets my head where it needs to be. I think those sort of situations work well for me because I like the excitement of the pressure that comes before. During a race I’ve learnt to relax and whatever happens, happens.

“I think Great Britain are always under pressure and we’re always recognised as we walk around and people want to speak to us. Everyone shines when they need to and as a team we can come together and support each other. I definitely think everyone will put out a performance that they’ll be proud of.”

On the other end of the height scale, the towering imposing figure of Campbell is looking to rewrite the record books after near misses at his previous two age group championships. At the World Youth Championships in 2013, the hammer thrower missed out on a place in the final by 1cm before losing out on an additional three throws at the World Junior Championships last summer on countback.

However, after a consistent season to date, which saw him break and extend the British Junior record to 78.74m, the European number three is looking for a change in fortunes in the Swedish city this time around.

Campbell, who finished fourth at the Sainsbury’s British Championships earlier this month said: “It (the disappointment of the last two years) makes you train a lot harder and you realise how much small margins make a difference in international competitions. If I had 1cm more in World Youths and Juniors in the last two years, it would have made a massive difference to where I finished.

“I have had a good series leading up to this. All my competitions have been over 76m and hopefully with that pressure will carry me further.”

On his captaincy, the 19 year old added: “I’ve been on three trips now, so get recognised and have a bit of responsibility is nice. It was quite surprised when I was told.”